Relations between the two have soured, however, because of the UAE's expanding influence in southern Yemen, home to a resurgent separatist movement.

The UAE's attempt to exert control over Socotra is seen by many as the latest move by the Gulf state to spread its influence well beyond its borders.

Socotra has been spared involvement in the Yemeni conflict, which has claimed about 10,000 lives since March 2015 and triggered what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.